Safe socks? Tell that to Frank Gore

San Francisco 49ers fullback Frank Gore heard from the NFL uniform police Wednesday. They were none too happy he had the audacity not to wear his socks at the proper height in last weekend's NFC Championship game against Atlanta.

They didn't inform him by telling him a a letter was going into his file. Oh, no, it's worse than double secret probation. Gore got docked $10,500 for the affront to all things NFL.

Let that sink in. More than 10 grand because his socks were a few inches low. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration's average wage index, the average U.S. worker makes $42,979 annually. So that's 24 percent of an average salary.

Gore may not feel the pinch quite that badly. His salary is $5 million, so the fine is 2 percent of his annual paycheck. But let's say you, the Average American Worker, went to work tomorrow and you got docked 2 percent because your socks were low, that's $860.

Nothing gets the NFL squirmy like a uniform faux pas. A few years ago, the week after the great Johnny Unitas died, Peyton Manning wanted to pay tribute to the all-time great quarterback by wearing high-top cleats, a Unitas trademark.